The Tail

I knew he was planning to dodge the tutorial, The moment I stepped into the kitchen and saw him cooking at seven in the evening, I knew…

Kaizen Arclair never cooked this early, not unless he was preparing to disappear.

Again!

I stood quietly near the hallway entrance, pretending not to watch him.

The silly Jerk moved around the kitchen with suspicious efficiency…. Fast and cunning, Looking around like a thief. 

Eggs, Cheese, Bread, Coffee…for dinner.

Everything prepared with alarming speed, Like a man trying to complete a mission before getting caught.

My eyes narrowed, Suspicious….Very suspicious.

Auren had returned to high school that afternoon after the weekend which means there was nobody left to stop Kaizen from vanishing into the night.

Which meant, He was absolutely trying to escape before our tutorial session.

And more importantly...Before telling me the truth, my irritation grew into disgust. 

The liar!

The coward!

The annoying, frustrating, secretive jerk….

After making me wait all day?

After promising to tell me everything?

He was planning to disappear again. 

Fine…

If Kaizen wanted to play games...Then I could play too.

I'm in for it. 

Tonight...

I was following him.

*****

An hour later, I stood in front of my mirror staring….

My disguise was ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous.

A black hoodie, Oversized joggers, A baseball cap and a Dark sneakers.

I even tucked my hair underneath the hoodie.

At first glance I looked like a teenage boy, 

At second glance...Not really.

I stared down at myself, My curves stubbornly refused to cooperate.

The hoodie hid some of them, obviously Not enough.

I sighed dramatically…

"This is the best we're getting."

The hoodie smelled faintly familiar, Coffee, Soap And something annoyingly expensive…

Kaizen's hoodie. I have refused to wash it since he gave me…. Somehow I love his scent.

The same one he'd given me weeks ago when I'd been freezing, the memory made me scowl.

Focus, Mission first….Annoying boy later.

*****

At exactly Nine thirty pm, the penthouse became quiet…

I sat on my bed pretending to read..

Waiting.

Watching.

Listening.

Then, his door opened.

My heart jumped.

Showtime…..

This is gonna be exciting……

I slipped silently into the hallway, Just in time to see Kaizen emerging from his room.

Dressed entirely in black, A dark hoodie, Dark jeans, Dark boots….Like some criminal heading toward a secret meeting or steal.

Which honestly wasn't helping this case in the dark, He paused.

He Looked left, Then right….

Checking,

Watching,

Making sure nobody was around….

Definitely suspicious… till he was sure everywhere was cleared.

Norms, he would have gone out like a free person because Nyra can't control his movement ….but for a fact that he had promised to gist her after tutorial tonight, guilt made him acting creepy.

Instead of heading toward the main entrance...He turned toward the back corridor. 

The corridor leading toward the old maintenance staircase.

The staircase that connected to the lower sections of the building.

My pulse quickened.

Where was he going?

******

I waited five seconds.

Then followed, Slowly and carefully.

Keeping my distance.

The corridor lights flickered overhead.

Casting strange shadows across the walls, The deeper we went, the quieter everything became.

Soon even the sounds of student life disappeared..Leaving only footsteps.

His footsteps. 

Then mine tailing slowly, not too close, not too far. 

*****

The staircase descended further underground, far below the residential floors.

Far below anything students should normally access, a chill crawled down my spine…. for about twenty minutes they were still going downwards.

Something about this place felt wrong….Very wrong.

The concrete walls looked older here, the lighting weaker and the air was getting colder.

Kaizen continued walking, Confidently and 

Purposeful, Like he'd taken this route a thousand times before.

I followed , my heart hammering heavily. 

Determination outweighing common sense.

******

Eventually the corridor widened, and a large steel door appeared ahead.

Partially hidden behind shadows.

My breathing slowed…What was this place? Storage? Maintenance? Or a secret entrance?...too many questions flooded my mind

Kaizen approached it, then suddenly stopped.

My stomach dropped instantly , He wasn't moving, Not a single step….Not a single sound.

Nothing.

A horrible realization struck me….

Has he heard me?

No.

Impossible, I'd been careful, Very careful.

Right?

Slowly,......Very slowly. Kaizen turned around.

Directly, Towards me.

“Shit”

My blood froze.

The distance between us wasn't far, maybe fifteen feet…Enough, More than enough…..

For several seconds neither of us moved, neither of us spoke.

Then his eyes narrowed, Fixing on my oversized hoodie, Recognition flashed instantly.

******

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me."

The curse escaped him, Low and exasperated..

“Shit…. Why can't you just stay put Nyra”

Before I could react or say a word, he moved much faster than I expected….

One second he stood near the steel door, The next, he was right behind me.

His hand wrapped firmly around my wrist, Another around my waist…pulling me backward.

Hard.

A gasp escaped my lips.

"Let go!"

"Nyra."

His voice sounded murderous.

"What exactly are you doing huh?"

I struggled immediately, 

 "Following you."

"Clearly."

His grip tightened but not enough to hurt, just enough to stop me escaping.

"Do you have any idea how dangerous this is?"

“Do you think this is some sort of playground” 

I rolled my eyes, "Oh please."

The reaction was immediate

"Please?"

His jaw tightened, obviously surprised at my audacity because I don't know what I'm getting into.

"Please?"

Something about his expression made my confidence falter.

Because he wasn't angry., not really. But he look scared…Actually scared For me.

The realization unsettled me.

"Kaizen—"

"No."

His voice dropped lower and sharper. 

"Do you ever think before doing things?"

"Do you?"

Wrong answer….Very wrong answer.

His eyes closed briefly, Like he was praying for patience.

"Nyra."

"What?"

"You should not be here."

"Then tell me why, because I'm here already"

Silence…..

"Tell me what you're hiding."

His expression hardened instantly, Walls rising.

Secrets returning…

I stepped closer.

Ignoring the warning blazing inside his eyes.

"You promised."

Nothing.

"You said you'd tell me tonight."

Still nothing.

"Was that another lie?"

Pain, guilt , regret flickered across his face that went off almost immediately.. 

Then, a sound echoed beyond the steel door.

A loud metallic crash, followed by distant shouting.

Both of us froze, My eyes widened….

"What was that?"

Kaizen's face lost all color.

For the first time all evening...He looked genuinely alarmed…And that's when I knew.

Whatever existed behind that door…? 

It was far worse than anything I'd imagined.?

The yelling increased

tremendously, sounding fiercely like chants…. Jeez!!

I'm doomed!!! I almost peeed on my pants

Everyday I keep unlocking new things about Kaizen.